Not Art Nbr 4: I Have No Words
The 2015 brood of four nestlings is the largest at the nesting island in at least eight years.
Babsje, June 12, 2015
Great Blue Heron Nesting Island August 8 2015
Great Blue Heron Nesting Island August 18 2015
Can you tell me what is different between the two photos above?
Take a moment, look closely.
Back in June, I wrote that the 2015 brood of four nestlings is the largest at the nesting island in at least eight years.
As I discovered this week, those chicks are destined to be the last brood to fledge from our island.
I have no words.
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Thanks to Michelle W and WordPress for the Weekly Photo Challenge: Creepy.
Thanks also to Wordless Wednesday for the Wordless Wednesday challenge.
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A selection of my heron and flower photos is now available at the Five Crows Gallery in Natick, MA. Drop in and see the work of the many wonderfully creative artists who show there when you’re in the area.
Five Crows is on FaceBook. To give the gallery a visit, please click here.
Remember: Walk softly and carry a long lens.™
The Tao of Feathers™
© 2015 Babsje. (https://babsjeheron.wordpress.com)
Great Blue Heron, Kayaking, Great Blue Heron Nest
Posted on August 19, 2015, in ardea herodias, Art, Birds, Great Blue Heron, Kayaking, Nature, Photography, postaday, Weekly Photo Challenge, Wild Bird Wednesday, Wildlife Photography, Wordless Wednesday and tagged great blue heron, postaday. Bookmark the permalink. 14 Comments.
Babsje Heron 
The dark trees and the dead tree with the nest have gone.
Hi Margaret – good observation, you’re correct. The frail dead trees couldn’t withstand the extreme, howling winds, and they toppled, broken off at the base of their trunks. They fell in such a direction that the healthier trees broke their fall, and so they are still on the island, leaning precariously inward. The Great Blue Herons’ nest is still attached to its tree, but sunken down many feet and at an angle. Thanks for your comment, Margaret, best Babsje.
This is really sad news, Babsje. What happened to the other trees?
Hi Sylvia – yes, I agree with you. The weakened trees came down, collapsing inward to the interior of the island, supported by the other healthier trees. The original nesting tree came down a few years ago, and the nest in this tree was created from scratch in late spring 2012. I watched the mated pair build it and then lay their clutch of eggs and then kept watching all that summer and beyond when their chicks fledged…and then the following spring when those fledglings returned to the lake as adults. What a gift that was, to be able to witness that full cycle of their breeding. I know you have a soft spot for the herons, too. Thanks for your comment. Best, Babsje
😦
Yes, 😦 HOWEVER, the nest looks intact, though sunken down in the interior of the island. Once the deciduous trees have shed their leaves on the fall, I will have a better view of the nest. They *might* be able to repurpose it next spring, though my first guess would be that the Cormorants on the island might be able to make easier use of it. The Herons really like the dead White Pines here that jut out into the sky and make a great platform for the fledglings first attempts at flight. I suspect the GBH pair will seek out a new tree when they return from migration next year. Unfortunately, there are no suitable dead pines left standing on the island, but the lake is 680+ acres, so an abundance of potential new housing stock for them. Time will tell. Best, Babsje
Thanks for your reply, Babsje. You will really miss them if they aren’t able to come back and nest here. Maybe they’ll make a plan. 🙂
You’re welcome, Sylvia, and thanks for your kind comments. There are several pairs of Great Blues on the lake, this pair was at the southern end. One pair in the middle lake had nesting disrupted by humans rehabbing a picnic area building this year, but the other pair in the upper middle lake area has hope yet. I don’t have a report on the north pond yet. Frankly, after our 109 inches of snow this winter, I was thrilled to see *any* Herons at all this year. My personal best was sighting 12 different Great Blues on the lake on the same day. That’s a fantastic testament to Nature renewing herself. 🙂
I see the nest!
Do herons come back year after year?
Please come link up at http://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2015/08/double-play-on-way.html
So glad you noticed the difference – the nest has disappeared from view in the newer of the two photos. Yes, they do return to their nest each year. But now the tree with that nest is down. Thanks for your comment. Best, Babsje
I am very late seeing this, but it’s sad to see, Babsje.
Hi Jane – Many thanks for your empathetic comment. My sentiments, exactly. Best, Babsje
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